Publication Downloads

All documents are downloadable in Adobe PDF format.
If you do not have Adobe PDF, a free version to view documents is available at:

Convict Criminology endeavors to assist advocates, communities, legislators, and all stakeholders
with reaching a more complete understanding of the social policies and practice of our criminal
justice system and the circumstances of those having experienced imprisonment, by providing accessibility to publications for review and implementation.

The publications are designed to foster the advancement of social justice through participation in advocacy work that focuses on the unique challenges facing many individuals
and their families as they deal with the difficult circumstances of incarceration, reentry, and reintegration.

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Euro Vista: Probation and Community Justice, University of Birmingham, UK. Volume 3, Number 1.

Abstract: USP Marion is the first supermax federal penitentiary. Marionization refers to
the experimental control program used at this prison. The prisoners speaking in this article
suffered many years of solitary confinement. This research brief discusses some of what
they experienced in their own words. These are the recollections of a few Marion prisoners
that have summoned the courage to speak out and share their darkest memories.
--Get Document:

Abstract: A perspective that has often been absent in criminal justice research is that of former prisoners. This article discusses the
establishment, in 1997, of "convict criminology," a group of scholars producing research informed by their experiences
of crime and the criminal justice process; that is, either those who have served time themselves or who have operated
alongside prisoners as professionals in custodial settings. It is argued that such scholars face similar dilemmas to others in
terms of emotionalism, but suggests that their emotions are of a different nature. While an "insider" perspective cannot
lay claim to scientific "objectivity," the article argues that the existence of emotion does not invalidate an "insider"
criminologist's views. Rather, the passion engendered by the experience of incarceration can add color, context, and
contour to data collection, findings, and analysis and may therefore be regarded as an essential thread in the tapestry of
criminological inquiry.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This article discusses the past, present, and future of the New School of
Convict Criminology (CC). A short history, including a discussion of literature, major
works, and research studies is provided as is a review of Convict Criminology Group
origination, membership, and activities. A first attempt at formal Convict Criminology
Theory construction is presented alongside four research hypotheses. University prejudice
and exclusion, as well as criminal justice hate words, are also addressed. The conclusion
explores the future of CC and requests support for the movement.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Convict criminology (CC) is a relatively new perspective in the fields of criminology and
criminal justice. It provides an alternative to the way that crime and criminal justice problems
are analyzed and interpreted by researchers, policy-makers, and politicians - many of whom
have had minimal contact with jails, prisons, and convicts. As a result of its theoretical,
methodological, and political aims it finds a natural home in the field of critical criminology.
--Get Document:

Never Ending Punishments: A Critical Commentary on Collateral Consequences - by John F. Frana, M.A.; Graduate Student University of Louisville

Abstract: Convicted felons are perhaps one of the
most marginalized demographics in America
today. This marginalization is compounded
by collateral consequences which, as this
essay will show, noticeably inhibit convicted
felons from full societal membership.
Collateral consequences are imposed upon
all citizens, over 16 million Americans,
representing 7.5% of the adult population,
who have a felony conviction (Uggen,
Manza, & Thompson 2006). It is no longer
enough that felons are punished via
incarceration for their actions; collateral
consequences represent a type of never
ending punishments.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This article investigates why Congress passed legislation in 1994 that denied Pell Grants
- the primary source of funding for postsecondary correctional education (PSCE) - to
prisoners, despite evidence that PSCE helped reduce recidivism and bolster carceral
order. Analysis of the congressional debates and relevant media texts shows that
lawmakers, in concert with the popular media, produced a legislative penal drama in
which they spoke to key audiences' - particularly white, working and middle class
voters' - mistrust of penal practitioners and criminal justice experts, prejudices toward
(black and brown) street criminals, fears about crime and anxiety over the economy,
the transformed labor market and access to higher education. The article contends that
the timing and texture of the Pell Grant affair were symbiotically related to a confluence
of developments in the political and related fields during the 1980s and early
1990s. It extends Emile Durkheim's communicative theory of penality to encompass
notions of class power and political interest. By producing such legislative penal dramas,
lawmakers simultaneously tap into and legitimize collective sentiments of particular
audiences, highlight symbolic boundaries between in- and out-groups and shore up
political electoral support for punitive policies.
--Get Document:

A CONVICT PERSPECTIVE ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS
- by STEPHEN C. RICHARDS, Northern Kentucky University and JEFFREY
IAN ROSS, University of Baltimore

Abstract: Convicts are rarely asked to comment on prison policy or procedure.
They have little voice in correctional decisions. This essay attempts to give
the men and women who live in cages a voice in how they are classified.
This is no small issue for convicts. Although prisoners may not be considered "stakeholders" (as Berk et al. point out), they may stake their very
lives on how they are classified and in which security level they are
confined.
--Get Document:

A PRISONER STORY: THE THIRD TURKEY - by G. David Curry. Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA

Abstract: This paper has been submitted for review. It will be presented at the 2012 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology
in Chicago on November 15. While the paper may be cited as a paper presentation, it should not be reproduced except for further
distribution. The author is grateful to Bob Lilly, Janette Curry, Stephanie Di Pietro, and Bob Bursik for comments on earlier drafts. I
am especially grateful to Stephen Richards for suggesting the paper, as well as copy-editing, formatting, and continuing to lead
convict criminology.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Offenders leaving prison may see rejoining society as a source of incredible liberation, full of
freedoms only dreamt about behind bars. However, their fantasies are rarely experienced once
outside and in recognition of this, ex-cons face harsh realities as they rejoin society. Ross and
Richards (2009) suggest that every ex-con would benefit from a "reality check" where reality and
fantasy are aligned so that ex-cons, if properly sensitized to the barriers of reentry, might avoid
recidivism. This book is that "reality check" - a no-nonsense "practical handbook" for those
reentering society and learning to "make good."

Ross and Richards write as advocates in a book that speaks directly to ex-cons, warning them
of the temptations and pitfalls of returning to the environments that contributed to their incarceration.
This balanced book provides readers with two equally important lessons: the first half (Chapters
1-4, 6) is about preparing to exit the prison system and how to deal with correctional
gatekeepers. The second half (Chapters 5, 7-11) is about how to gain human capital and establishing
social capital.
--Get Document:

The Use of Incarceration in the United States: A Policy Paper Presented by the National Policy Committee to the American Society of Criminology. Nation Policy Committee: James Austin, Marino A. Bruce, Leo Carroll, Patricia L. McCall, Stephen C. Richards

Abstract: The past two decades have produced a profound and historic shift in the use of
imprisonment within the United States. In 1980, there were less than 500,000 people
imprisoned in the nation's prisons and jails. Today we have nearly two million and the
numbers continue to rise. We are spending over $35 billion annually on corrections
while many other government services for education, health and human services and
public transportation are hard pressed to meet the need for such services.
More alarming is the fact that the use of imprisonment has been highest for
African American and Hispanic males. It is now estimated by the U.S. Department of
Justice (USDJ) that approximately one third of all Black males will experience state
prison in their lifetime. We also know that much of this increase in the use of
imprisonment is directly related to the nation's war on drugs policy, which has also
dramatically increased the incarceration of women -- mostly for drug crimes.
Furthermore, the high growing incarceration rates have resulted in nearly 1.5 million
children (or 2 percent of the entire population under age 18) having a parent
incarcerated.
--Get Document:

Introducing the New School of Convict Criminology by Richards, S.C., Ross, J.I. (2001). Social Justice 28, (1) 177-190

Abstract: The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the Western
world. Meanwhile, prison research is dominated by government funding and conducted by academics
or consultants, many of them former employees of the law enforcement establishment (ex-police,
correctional, probation, or parole officers), who subscribe to conservative ideologies and have
little empathy for prisoners. Much of this "managerial research" routinely disregards the harm
perpetrated by criminal justice processing of individuals arrested, charged, and convicted of crimes.

If legislators, practitioners, researchers, and scholars are serious about addressing the corrections crisis,
we need to be more honest and creative with respect to the research we conduct and the policies we advocate,
implement, and evaluate. To promote this objective, this essay introduces what we are calling "Convict Criminology,"
and reviews the theoretical and historical grounding, current initiatives, and dominant themes of this emerging school
and social movement.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Convicts are rarely asked to comment on prison policy or procedure.
They have little voice in correctional decisions. This essay attempts to give
the men and women who live in cages a voice in how they are classified.
This is no small issue for convicts. Although prisoners may not be considered
"stakeholders" (as Berk et al. point out), they may stake their very
lives on how they are classified and in which security level they are
confined.

Typically, new prisoners enter prison systems through "reception centers"
or in what the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) calls "Receiving
and Departure." Although intake procedures differ, they never receive a
pleasant welcome. The prisoners arrive scared and worn, wearing handcuffs,
belly chains, and dragging leg irons. Standing in line, they are
ordered to strip, searched, sprayed or dusted with a delousing chemical,
issued clothes, and ordered to submit to a battery of token medical and
psychological examinations administered by guards pretending to be medical
staff. Convicts call this "kicking the tires." If it's not flat, don't fix it.
It makes no difference if the prisoner is HIV positive, ready to have
another stroke, or near death. The line marches on.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The personal fears that a new inmate brings with him to prison center around his
concerns for safety. Like anyone who watches television or reads newspapers, he has
seen stories about prison riots, murders, stabbings, and beatings. Like most people in our
society, he believes that the prison world is a violent world; unlike most people, however,
he is about to enter this world, so this general cultural image becomes greatly intensified
and personalized in his own mind. He is afraid of what might happens to him in prison. He
is afraid of being hurt. He is afraid of dying. And, perhaps more than anything else, he is
afraid of being sexually assaulted.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This paper offers a new perspective on the "prisonization" experience by focusing
on the process through which first-time, short-term inmates come to know, and
act in, their prison worlds. The study is based on participant observation and
interviewing in a men's maximum security prison. We discuss inmates' evolving
perceptions and definitions of prison life as they enter, endure, then exit the prison,
noting the changing imagery of the prison over the course of their sentences. We
analyze inmates' adaptations to incarceration at various stages of their sentence in
terms of experiential orientations to prison life and the practical problems and
concerns that dominate inmates' everyday lives.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The prison setting provides researchers with specific
challenges that must be considered prior to conducting a
study. This paper addresses some of these challenges and
provides an argument for why the use of a qualitative
methodological approach may be the best strategy for
what Marquardt (1086) refers to as "penetrating the backstage
prison behavior settings." Specifically, this paper
provides a brief discussion of the different types of
research methods that have been used to study prison. Secondly,
we will address the strengths and weaknesses of
a qualitative methodological approach to studying the
prison. Third, we will provide as an exemplar a unique
approach to the study of prisons, namely an ethnographic
study that utilized a complete participant (inmate-sociologist)
and an outside observer (sociology professor) as a
way of achieving an insider's understanding while
maintaining an outsider's objectivity. The paper
concludes with a discussion of alternative ways of
achieving insider knowledge of the prison social world.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This study is a descriptive analysis of the adaptation
responses of inmates at a correctional institution for women located
in the Midwest of the United States. Data for the study were collected
and analyzed using a qualitative methodological approach.. This investigation
extends the literature on women prisoners by examining the inmates' perceptions
of the deprivations of incarceration; how inmates respond to the deprivations of
incarceration; and the impact that relationships outside of prison has on inmates'
response to incarceration.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The prison system is a perpetual incarceration machine growing on failure. This article explores
structural impediments that contribute to parole failure and recidivism. Prisoners exit prison with
few material resources and many obligations. Upon arrival at the work release centers, they are
subjected to the demands of "collection counselors." They complain about deductions from their
employment checks, including restitution, court costs, fees for public defenders, and rent for
work release beds. The correctional system perpetuates itself: Failures in work release, probation,
and parole account for the majority of new prison admissions. Recommendations are provided for facilitating effective prison release programs.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Families impacted by systems of criminal justice are virtually invisible and
too often excluded from discourse pertaining to family policy. This special issue is an attempt to
bring the debate "home" and emphasize an important but unarticulated element contributing to "an insecure situation for the child" that puts
children at risk.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This paper explores the consequences of drug policies,
especially punitive criminal justice sanctions, for the families of offenders.
Mandatory minimum sentences and certain legal developments have
created substantial growth in the prison industry with a likely increase in
the number and intensity of harms to drug offenders and their families.
Negative outcomes include at-risk developmental pathways for children,
uncertain quality of care and parenting, family dissolution, and weak-ended
communities. The evidence suggests that punitive drug policies
come at great social and economic cost with minimal benefits. Harm-reduction
is offered as a framework for change in relation to drug offenders
and their families. Recommendations for family preservation and sentencing
reform are discussed.
--Get Document:

Doing Family Research at the Jail: Reflections of a Prison Widow by Arditti, J. A. (2002, December). Doing family research at the jail: Reflections of a prison widow. The Qualitative Report, 7(4).

Abstract: In this article, Dr. Arditti reflects on her experience running a small family
research project at a local jail. She focuses on methodological and policy issues inherent
in controversial research, as well as her own personal reactions to the criminal justice
system. Implications of insider status are discussed as they apply to researcher stance
and responsibilities in corrections settings.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The challenge of reentry and reintegration for those who have been formerly incarcerated and the effects of
"prisonization" on ones' self-concept while imprisoned and later when returning to society are significant, and relearning how to act on the outside involves learning how to cope with a spoiled identity. The stigmatized individual
must determine what information they should convey to others within the social community, employment, and relationships about their ex-con status.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Like many other states, Kentucky is facing a severe budget crisis and
is seeking ways to lower its prison costs. To better understand the number and types of persons being released from
prison to parole, we recently requested and received from the Kentucky Department of
corrections a data file that contained information on all prisoners released in 1998.
We also interviewed prisoners and parolees, as well as correctional and parole staff. In our
analysis of these records and interviews, we found no difference in recidivism based on
a prisoner's length of stay. Put differently, no crime reduction gains will be achieved by either
extending or reducing the period of a prisoner's imprisonment. As of January 2003, this study
has contributed to the immediate release of nearly 900 prisoners in Kentucky. Policy recommendations are provided with
this study.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Little is known about the experience of families affected by incarceration,
yet current trends indicate that millions of children have a parent who is imprisoned. Using a
conceptual framework that acknowledges the losses associated with a parent's incarceration, 56
caregivers visiting an incarcerated family member during children's visiting hours were interviewed.
The interview gathered information about family, health, economics, and the legal aspects of the inmate's
situation. Overall, families were at risk economically before incarceration, and the most vulnerable
became even more financially strained afterward. Other problems believed to be created by incarceration
included parenting strain, emotional stress, and concerns about children's loss of involvement with
their incarcerated parent. Implications for family practice and policy are discussed.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Kentucky is currently facing a severe budget crisis and is seeking ways to lower its prison and
community corrections costs. This article focuses on our study of the prison and parole experience of men and
women in Kentucky. What we found is a virtual "perpetual incarceration machine" where prisoners are
recycled from prison to parole and back to prison. The following discussion includes: Kentucky's prison
population continues to grow, parole failure, methods, description of interview samples, interview data,
the structure producing parole failure, and Kentucky's perpetual incarceration machine. Based on our
findings, several promising reforms are recommended that if implemented would serve to reduce the
prison population and the rate of parole failure.
--Get Document:

Abstract: In this book chapter we introduce the convict perspective
and a structural analysis of prisoner reentry to the community. We then discuss the
economic and legal consequences of incarceration, qualitative methods used in our
study of Iowa convicts, our findings, the perpetual incarceration machinery. We conclude
with an esoteric discussion of descent and ascent: a means mentally to overcome the material
structures of the incarceration machine. As former penitentiary prisoners we learned mind over matter
and the need to struggle against the oppression of determinist structural barriers. Our research study
attempts to answer the following questions. Why do so many ex-convicts experience rearrest and
reincarceration? What are the social-structural variables, impediments and obstacles that
contribute to recidivism? Specifically, what insights into the structural problems of prison release explain
parole failure? How do convicts beat the machine?
--Get Document:

Abstract: This article advances an ecological framework that emphasizes the context of parental incarceration
and its impact on families and children. Particular attention is given to the disenfranchisement
resulting from a family member's imprisonment, loss, and the experience of family visiting in corrections
settings. Drawing from U. Bronfenbrenner's (1977) systemic approach to understanding
development, the framework provides a basis from which to interpret existing scholarship as well as
guide ecologically sensitive practice and policy.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This study investigated the experiences of incarcerated fathers,
their perceptions of fatherhood, and the nature of their involvement
with their children. Fifty-one incarcerated fathers confined at two minimum security
correctional facilities were interviewed approximately one moth prior to their release from prison.
A qualitative content analysis revealed detailed description pertaining to participants'
feelings of helplessness and the difficulties of being a "good father" while in prison.
Incarceration represented a dormant period for men in terms of fatherhood, and reentry
signified an opportunity to "start over" with their children. Finally, father involvement
was profoundly constrained during incarceration, and men were entirely dependent on nonincarcerated mothers
or caregivers for contact with children. Many fathers perceived mothers' gatekeeping, or efforts to prevent contact, as
evidence of their powerlessness. Recommendations for future research and intervention are discussed.
--Get Document:

The Prevailing Injustices in the Application of the Missouri Death Penalty by Lenza, M. (2005). Social Justice; 2005; 32, 2; Criminal Justice Periodicals pg. 151

Abstract:Gregg v. Georgia (1976) approved the constitutional criteria of Georgia statute, Ga. Code Ann., 26-1101 (a) (1972) as a model for rewriting of state capital punishment laws, one of them Missouri's present revised death penalty statute (§ 565.020 R.S.Mo. 2000). The majority opinions in Gregg assured Americans that "arbitrary and capricious" sentencing was an element of racist past and that if the provisions in Gregg were followed by lawmakers and practiced by the courts, fair and equitable treatment was possible in the overwhelming majority of cases.

This article will argue that the procedural remedies in Gregg have failed to rectify those inequalities and that in the instance of the State of Missouri, arbitrary and capricious sentences of death have proceeded in numbers that are exceptional in proportion to its population.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The experiences of a group of mothers reentering the community after a period of incarceration
are explored. The authors are particularly interested in how incarceration and
subsequent reentry influence mothers' family relationships and primary risk and protective
factors. Eighty interviews are conducted with 28 women probationers who had
at least one minor child and had undergone incarceration at least 2 months prior to
release. Descriptive analyses reveal that mental health risks characterize many mothers
in this study, resource adequacy and parenting stress are significantly related, and family
support is an important factor in successful reentry. It also appears that incarceration,
even for short periods, is associated with shifts in family configuration on mothers'
release by increasing the likelihood of divorce and decreasing the likelihood that mothers
will reside with the father of at least one of their biological children. Implications for
intervention and directions for future research are discussed.
--Get Document:

Abstract: In this exploratory study, 18 semistructured life-history interviews were conducted with
heavy drinkers who substituted marijuana for their alcohol use. Folk knowledge on the efficacy
of marijuana in self-treatment for alcoholism, particularly associative depression and
anxiety disorders, is examined. The study views the impacts of alcohol and marijuana on
the subjects' ability to sustain viable normative selves in their daily interaction orders.
Other instrumental uses of marijuana, consciousness expansion and social facilitation, are
also presented as well as how normative dosages of marijuana can be socially constructed
and transmitted within rituals of use.
--Get Document:

Supermax Prisons by Ross, J.I. (2007). Society 44, (3) 60-64

Abstract: Each time a crime occurs, an arrest is made, the
trial ends, and a person is sentenced to prison,
the public has a recurring curiosity about where
the convict is sent. Over the past two decades, a phenomenal
number of individuals have been sentenced
to jails and to state or federal prisons.

But this is just the beginning of the journey. Prisoners
are classified into a whole host of various kinds of facilities.
They typically vary based on the level of security, from
minimum to high. But since the mid-1980s, a dramatic
change has underscored corrections in the United States
and elsewhere. Correctional systems at all levels have introduced
or expanded the use of Supermax prisons.
--Get Document:

Controversies Surrounding Laud Humphreys' Tearoom Trade: An Unsettling Example of Politics and Power in Methodological
Critiques by Lenza, M. (2004). International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 24, (3) 20-31

Abstract: Regarding these issues surrounding research on human subjects, this
paper will argue that this dominant view of Humphreys' tearoom trade
study, focusing primarily upon respect for autonomy (informed consent),
misinforms the reader as much as it informs of the underlying
moral and ethical foundations for research with human subjects. Three
moral and ethical principles provide the foundations for most medical,
scientific, and social research methodologies: beneficence, justice, and
respect for autonomy (informed consent) (Faden and Beauchamp
1986: 5). I will first review each of these three ethical foundations for
sociological research, then, I will examine Humphreys' Tearoom Trade study through the vantage point of each and the historical facts
surrounding the controversies.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois (USP Marion) was the first federal
supermax prison. The "mean little house" is one of the most significant U.S.
prisons built in the past century. It has served as a model for high-security
detention confinement and been copied worldwide. Marion also has a history
of violence, mistakes, and inflicting serious damage on prisoners. This article
employs a "convict criminology perspective" to discuss the history of Marion,
the profile of federal prisoners, control units, programs and services, prisoners
released from Marion, the prison camp, transfer of high-security prisoners,
and comparable supermax penitentiaries. Early in 2007, USP Marion was converted
to medium security, closing one of the most infamous chapters in recent
American penal history.
--Get Document:

Maternal Distress and Women's Reentry into Family and Community Life by Arditti, J. A., Few, A.L. (2008). Family Process, 47(3) 303 - 322.

Abstract: This paper advances conceptualization of maternal distress following incarceration.
We utilized a multiple case study methodology based on interviews with 10 mothers
who demonstrated various permutations of ‘‘the triple threat'' (depression, domestic
violence, and substance abuse; Arditti & Few, 2006). Findings suggest that depressive
symptomology persisted and worsened for mothers in our study and that maternal
distress was indicative not only of women's psychological state, but also a relational
and situational construct that embodied women's core experience. Maternal distress
was largely characterized by health challenges, dysfunctional intimate relationships,
loss related trauma, guilt and worry over children, and economic inadequacy. Further,
maternal distress seemed to be intensified by the punitive traumatic context of prison
and lessened by rehabilitation opportunities as well as support by kin and probation
officers after reentry. Recommendations for clinicians and professionals who work with
reentry mothers center around the need to alleviate maternal distress and better address
women's emotional and physical health needs during incarceration and reentry.
--Get Document:

Parental Imprisonment and Family Visitation: A Brief Overview and Recommendations for Family Friendly Practice by Arditti, J. A. (2008). Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare: Children of Incarcerated Parents. CW360: p.16.

Abstract: This article discusses parental incarceration and the impact on families and children as it relates to
visitation in a prison environment. Parental incarceration is a fact of life for millions of children and families and not simply
a criminal justice issue or an individual matter. Parental incarceration is a matter for children's well-being, where child welfare and intervention
clearly matter.
--Get Document:

One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008 by The PEW Charitable Trust (2008).

Abstract: Three decades of growth in America's prison
population has quietly nudged the nation across a
sobering threshold: for the first time, more than one
in every 100 adults is now confined in an American
jail or prison. According to figures gathered and
analyzed by the Pew Public Safety Performance
Project, the number of people behind bars in the
United States continued to climb in 2007, saddling
cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill
afford and failing to have a clear impact either on
recidivism or overall crime.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Today, more than two million men and women reside
in our nation's jails and prisons. This population is
disproportionately black and brown, while those
who attend universities are nearly exclusively white. The drug
war has devastated minority communities and has contributed
to a dramatic increase in the rate of incarceration for people of
color (Miller, 1996; Austin et al., 2001). In this article, we discuss
the following topics: convict criminology perspective, inviting
convicts to college programs, convicts as "invisible" minorities,
minorities in prisons, and correctional education and recidivism.
The Convict Criminology course is taught at one university
and two state prisons. A ten-question survey was administered
to the three classes. The respondents' replies are provided
as a means for comparing university and convict students' perceptions
and thoughts about the course they completed. As
simply as possible, we have outlined one way that universities
can help prisoners to exit prison and enter college.
--Get Document:

One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections 2009by The PEW Charitable Trust (2009).

Abstract: States face the worst fiscal crisis in a generation.
Shrinking budgets are forcing governors
and legislators to examine all areas of public
spending for possible savings, even those that
have been off limits.

Corrections is a prime target for cuts. Last year it
was the fastest expanding major segment of state
budgets, and over the past two decades, its
growth as a share of state expenditures has been
second only to Medicaid. State corrections costs
now top $50 billion annually and consume one in
every 15 discretionary dollars.

The remarkable rise in corrections spending wasn't
fate or even the natural consequence of spikes in
crime. It was the result of state policy choices that
sent more people to prison and kept them there
longer. The sentencing and release laws passed in
the 1980s and 1990s put so many more people
behind bars that last year the incarcerated
population reached 2.3 million and, for the first
time, one in 100 adults was in prison or jail.

The escalation of the prison population has been
astonishing, but it hasn't been the largest area of
growth in the criminal justice system. That would
be probation and parole - the sentenced
offenders who are not behind bars.

With far less notice, the number of people on
probation or parole has skyrocketed to more than
5 million, up from 1.6 million just 25 years ago.
This means that 1 in 45 adults in the United
States is now under criminal justice supervision in
the community, and that combined with those in
prison and jail, a stunning 1 in every 31 adults, or
3.2 percent, is under some form of correctional
control. The rates are drastically elevated for men
(1 in 18) and blacks (1 in 11) and are even higher
in some high-crime inner-city neighborhoods.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This article discusses the historical origins of Convict Criminology (CC);
intellectual legacy of Convict Criminology; organization of the Convict Criminology group; allies in the Convict Criminology
struggle; recent activities of the Convict Criminology group; impact of Convict Criminology on the study of jails,
prisons, and community corrections; and the authors' future plans. Thus, the
focus of this article is on taking stock of the development of Convict Criminology and identifying
the accomplishments to date.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The vast majority of these men and women spend enough time in prison
to disrupt their connections to their families and communities. And prison
authorities fail to prepare ex-convicts for the difficult and often lifethreatening
process of "reentry." As a result, the percentage of ex-convicts
who return to a life of crime and additional prison time escalates each year.
Beyond Bars is the most current, practical, and comprehensive guide for
ex-convicts and their families for managing a successful reentry into the
community. Written by criminal justice experts who have 30 years of
experience working with the prison system, this valuable book includes
information on ...

Abstract: This study takes as its primary goal the construction of an economic foundation for corrections policy in the State of Hawai'i. Up to this point, Hawai'i's citizens, elected representatives, and state administrators have not had access to a serious accounting of the costs of putting their fellow citizens in prison. These costs and benefits of prison time are much more diverse and affect far more people than has been portrayed in the local media, whose reports often focus narrowly on the cost of the prison bed. As the title of this work implies, costs and benefits spread across society, and the costs for the state, for the prisoner, and for the prisoner's family far outweigh the benefits. We explore this subject using as a case study the cohort of drug offenders released from Hawaii's prisons in fiscal year 2006. (Download: Executive Summary--Get Full Document:

Abstract: This paper sets out to itemize and estimate the social costs and benefits incurred by the incarceration of parents who have minor children. We do so by assembling and integrating a diverse set of studies addressing the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of social service programs, cost-of-illness studies of drug and alcohol abuse, cost of crime studies, and a very small set of studies of the costs of incarceration itself. Few authors have previously attempted a comprehensive, societal approach and none have systematically itemized costs and benefits for incarceration.
--Get Document:

Abstract: While we know formal education is an important variable for
reducing recidivism, there are few prison systems still offering college
courses. We introduce the Inviting Convicts to College Program
that deploys undergraduate student-teachers as instructors of college
level courses inside prisons. The student-teachers are supervised
by professors. The course taught is Convict Criminology. This article
describes the program, and uses quantitative and qualitative
methods to assess four semesters taught at a medium-security state
prison. The methodology uses both a survey and focused interviews
of prisoners and student teachers. Findings indicate the program
goals were met, and the courses taught served as valuable educational
experiences for convicts and student-teachers.
--Get Document:

Death by Incarceration as a Cruel and Unusual Punishment when Applied to Juveniles: Extending Roper to Life Without Parole, Our Other Death Penalty
by Robert Johnson, Ph.D.
and Sonia Tabriz (2009); U. MD. L.J. RACE, RELIGION, GENDER & CLASS [VOL. 9: 241-258
2009]

Abstract: In Roper v. Simmons, the United States Supreme Court held
that juveniles could not be subjected to the death penalty. The Court
emphasized that the well-documented immaturity of juveniles makes
them less culpable for their crimes and less easily deterred by the
threat of punishment. In this article, we maintain that the Eighth Amendment also
prohibits sentencing juveniles to life without parole because this
sanction is a death sentence in its own right. A sentence of life without
parole amounts to "death by incarceration" since offenders are
sentenced to die in prison, making this sanction "our other death
penalty."
--Get Document:

From Corrections to College: The Value of a Convict's Voice
by Leyva, Martin and Christopher Bickel (2010); Western Criminology Review 11(1):50-60.

Abstract: The rise in mass incarceration has been accompanied by an abandonment of first-hand, in-depth accounts of crime and incarceration. Too few criminologists have stepped foot inside a prison, let alone served time within its walls. Situated within a growing movement of convict criminology, this article provides a first-hand account of the abuse convicts often experience in the home, the streets, and later in prison. Breaking from the traditional scholarly format, this autobiographical article not only highlights the importance of a convict's voice, but also calls on criminologists to move beyond official data sources and crime reports to a more in-depth exploration of complex lives of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated.
--Get Document:

A Partial Test of Life-Course Theory on
A Prison Release Cohort by Matthew G. Yeager, Carleton University

Abstract: This article examines the thesis put forth by Sampson and Laub (1993) that "social
capital" over an offender's life course positively or negatively impinges upon their
success in the community - i.e., ability to avoid criminal re-processing. Using a data set
(N= 773) of male Canadian penitentiary inmates released to the community between
1983-1984, a test is made of the impact of both employment and marriage during a
three-year supervision follow-up, controlling for race, alcohol involvement, prior
juvenile convictions, and prior adult convictions. Because the sample does not represent
a classic, longitudinal design, we consider this to be a partial test of the life course thesis.
Regardless of whether the dependent variable is general or violent criminal recidivism,
full-time employment and marriage remain significant predictors for male convicts --
employment being the more statistically significant of the two. Ironically, at the very
time when the Canadian prison industry was disbanding their offender employment
programs, this data suggests otherwise. Today, employment programs for offenders are
politically unpopular yet they suggest promise when offenders can find meaningful and
stable jobs. Structural intervention in market economies might be suggested. Is it
therefore reasonable to ask: who is creating conditions favorable to criminality and are
our prisons designed to maintain the employment marginality of offenders?
--Get Document:

The View From the Other Side of
the Fence: Incarcerated Women
Talk about Themselvesby Annette Kuhlmann, University of Wisconsin Colleges in Baraboo, Justice Policy Journal, Volume 2 - No. 1 - Summer 2005

Abstract: Women are the demographic group with the fastest growing incarceration rates,
yet historically women's prisons have been built and organized according to the male
model. In this manner female convicts' special needs have been ignored. In recent years
a small body of literature has begun to address the special situation of women in the
criminal justice system, the way that the nature of their crimes and their life in prison is
different than that of men and is rooted in patriarchy. Listening to the voices of the
women themselves reveals the interrelated nature of the crimes for which they are
convicted and their structural position.
--Get Document:

WHEN THE PAST IS A PRISON: THE HARDENING PLIGHT OF THE
AMERICAN EX-CONVICTby Roger Roots, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract: Today's American criminal justice system is generating more ex-criminals than
ever before, due to increasingly punitive sentencing, the increasing criminalization of
formerly noncriminal acts, and the increasing federalization of criminal matters. At the
same time, advances in record-keeping and computer technology have made life more
difficult for ex-convicts. This article examines the hardships faced by American exconvicts
reentering the non-custodial community both at present and in the past. It
concludes that modern ex-convicts face more difficulties than those of past generations,
because 1) a greater number of laws that restrict their occupational and social lives, and
2) better data collection and transfer among criminal justice jurisdictions make evading or
escaping from one's criminal past more difficult. The result of these coalescing trends is
that American society is increasingly forming a hierarchical order of citizenship, with
long-term negative economic and social consequences for both ex-offenders and the
broader community.
--Get Document:

Abstract: Nearly 5 million Americans are currently deprived of the right to vote as a result
of state laws which prohibit voting by felons and ex-felons. With the exception of Maine
and Vermont, every state denies incarcerated individuals the right to vote, 30 states deny
felons on probation or parole the right to vote, and in 12 states felons are permanently
banned from voting (Sentencing Project 2004). This research explores the political and
demographic factors that influence the probability of a state adopting more or less
stringent laws regarding a felon's right to vote.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The popularity of imprisonment as a sanctioning tool has significant implications for
corrections, which traditionally has allocated few resources for institutional or community-based
programs for female offenders. Many women who are imprisoned have backgrounds of
economic disadvantage and have limited resources at either a personal or social level to change
their circumstances. Moreover, institutional rules and programmatic opportunities available to
women in prison, contribute to the continuation of their disadvantaged status. Thousands of
women are being released from prison each year with no safety net to assist survival and combat
recidivism. The hurdles and barriers that present themselves are often cumbersome and
challenging. In light of the growing numbers of women who are affected by the imprisonment
experience, a critical assessment of current prison programs for women is necessary to move
beyond the mere acceptance of limited program offerings as a means to manage the "doing
time" experience toward a realistic re-entry approach that promotes the successful reintegration
of women offenders.
--Get Document:

Abstract: The etics-emics debate, "neutral objectivity" versus "biased subjectivity," is
ongoing within the academy. As academics we are indoctrinated into, and convince
ourselves of, the ideology of objectivity. We are subjective human beings who attempt to
develop objective standards. This stated, we are subjective by nature yet strive for the
arcamedian point of absolute neutrality. The present paper explores the positive-negative
aspects of incorporating personal-subjective experience(s) in teaching criminal
justice. The reality of subjectivity is explored within the context of the unobtainable
pursuit of pure objectivity.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This paper examines opinions by Supreme Court justices of the most significant death
penalty cases of the 1970s and 1980s [i.e., Furman v. Georgia (1972), Gregg v. Georgia (1976),
Woodson v. North Carolina (1976), and McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)]. We seek to determine: 1) what
main justifications were used by justices to support their own opinions; 2) how inconsistent over
these cases were justices in issuing their opinions; and 3) what factors led to changes in opinions
across time. We examine three types of inconsistency: First, issuing an opinion that is contradictory
to opinions issued in earlier cases (e.g., a justice rules in favor of capital punishment in one case
and then against it in another, or vice versa); Second, issuing an opinion that appears to be
contradictory to statements made in written opinions in earlier cases (e.g., a justice votes in a way
opposite to the principles he or she has put forth in previous cases); and Third, ruling in a way that
appears to violate a precedent or rule of law. We seek to explain such inconsistencies to illuminate
why capital punishment is still legal despite numerous problems with its application. It is these
cases that best illustrate why capital punishment persists.
--Get Document:

Abstract: America seems to have moved to a position in history where we are captivated with thoughts of
military power. Not since World War II has America been engaged in combat along two
theaters of combat operation - Iraq and Afghanistan. We now have extended our military
prowess and declared war against global terrorism, which means the number of potential
combat front lines is impossible to determine. The initial blowback from such a strategy seems
to be an economic catastrophe at home. This article focuses on another potential blowback - an
emerging storm that encompasses the war at home that Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans are
beginning to experience. The lessons from the aftermath of the Vietnam are available for all to
review. A disinterest acknowledging those lessons seems to be prevailing. This article is written
as evidence for the men and women who serve, or have served, in Afghanistan and Iraq that they
have support for their second war - the war that begins when they leave the military. This
article also challenges researchers and service providers to begin preparation to support these
veterans.
--Get Document:

Abstract: A number of important sociological and psychological factors result from
linguistic development delay and cultural dissonance. These are unique to the deaf and
hard of hearing offender population and need to be taken into account in efforts to assess
the vocational, educational and psychological needs of deaf prison inmates. This paper
discusses these various factors and provides suggestions for corrections officials to
remediate these problems.
--Get Document:

Abstract: This paper examines whether the belief that the US criminal justice system is fair is a
myth. After an introduction of the criminal justice system and its goals, we turn to possible
sources of unfairness in criminal justice, including the criminal law, definitions of crime,
policing, courts, and corrections. The authors explore the possibility that the criminal justice
system is unfair both in what it does and in what it does not do. After a discussion of the role of
mythology in criminal justice, the paper concludes with a summary and suggestions for making
American criminal justice activity fairer.
--Get Document:

Abstract: To Protect its citizens and maintain the status quo, the state has created numerous coercive agencies (Ross, 2005). Some of the most dominant are
law enforcement, intelligence/national security, and the military. Although these organizations have been analyzed in the specific context of state crime
(e.g., Gill, 1995; Menzies, 1995), few scholars have explicitly reviewed correctional institutions (especially correctional workers, their policies and processes)
as perpetrators and facilitators of state crime that can include corruption, civil and human rights violations, and torture (Ross, 2000a, 2000b; Rothe, 2009). In
general, the correctional sanction is established to punish, rehabilitate, and serve as a specific deterrent for lawbreakers. It is also supposed to protect the community
and deter others who might engage in similar criminal activity. Aside from punishment, jail and prison sentences rarely achieve the objectives of the correctional sanction. --Get Document:

Abstract:Most criminologists tend to base their view of prison on ideological assumptions gathered from secondary sources, with at best limited entry to the prison world. They nearly always get it wrong, as they systematically exclude the perspectives real life experiences of their human subjects. These academic researchers have contributed to poor public policy that promotes the violent repression of prisoners in the USA and other countries. In response, Convict Criminologists are ex-convicts working as criminology criminal justice professors, along with "non-con" associates, that insist that as a means for societies to develop humane, effective, and cost efficient prisons, we must develop ways to incorporate the voices of prisoners in our theorizing about, policy recommendations for, and management of the prison. --Get Document:

Money, criminology and criminal policies by Lenza, Michael, and Jones, R. S. (2010) Money, Criminology and Criminal Justice Policies:
The impacts of political policies, criminality, and money on the criminal justice in the United States.
In Martine Herzog-Evans (Ed.) Transnational Criminology Manual Vol.1, (pp. 313-332)
The Netherlands: Wolf Legal Publishers.

Abstract: As Convict Criminologists we draw upon our experiential knowledge as
prisoners held within the American criminal justice system. That experience
provides us with a substantial emersion within the material conditions of life
within prison as politics, criminality, and the impact of money substantially
altered the criminal justice system in the USA that surrounded and controlled
our lives. Combined, our experience goes back to the 1970s as convicts, then up
to the present as academic faculty and researchers. We review what we believe
is the best evidence that explains the inter-relationships between policies
(political), criminality and money, and their age-old dance with race, class, and
ethnicity in the United States. We first provide a general introduction outlining
our research, followed by the historical overview of core policy changes that led
to the vast expansion of corrections and their social impacts. Then we take a
closer look at research examining intersections of race, money, and politics in
USA on drug and crime polices. Conclusions follow. --Get Document:

Abstract: Throughout this discussion about mass incarceration in the United States of
America (USA), the authors provide a description and analysis of incarceration
rates within the USA. An overview of comparative international trends in
incarceration rates, conditions of confinement in American jails and prisons, an
analysis of the USA's transition from indeterminate to determinate sentencing,
as well as, some of the economic and social costs of the USA's mass
incarceration are also discussed. The paper concludes with suggestions on how
the momentum of the mass incarceration movement in the US can be
lessened, and what American life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness might
look like in the 21st Century.--Get Document:

The Inviting Convicts to College Program by Rose, Chris, Reschenberg, Kristin and Richards, Stephen 'The Inviting Convicts to College Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 49:4, 293 - 308 (2010). .

Abstract: While we know formal education is an important variable for reducing recidivism, there are few prison systems college courses. We introduce the Inviting Convicts to College Program that deploys undergraduate student-teachers instructors of college level courses inside prisons. The student-teachers are supervised by professors. The course Convict Criminology. This article describes the program, and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to assess semesters taught at a medium-security state prison. The methodology uses both a survey and focused interviews and student teachers. Findings indicate the program goals were met, and the courses taught served as valuable experiences for convicts and student-teachers. --Get Document:

Abstract: Robert Merton's (1957) theories of anomie and strain are among the most widely examined theories of criminality. Messner and Rosenfeld's (1994) theory of institutional anomie built on Merton's conception of anomie, delineating how specific institutions lead to conditions of anomie and criminality. Cloward and Ohlin's (1961) theory of differential opportunity built upon Merton's strain theory, underscoring the fact that those involved in illegitimate means of opportunity require a set of learned skills as do those involved in legitimate means. In this tradition, the present paper further expands Merton's theories of anomie and strain, suggesting that Merton's categories of conformist and innovator are not mutually exclusive. In fact, some individuals combine both legitimate and illegitimate means of opportunity in pursuit of the American Dream. The Maximizer, the authors suggest, merges elements of both the conformist and the innovator (i.e. legitimate and illegitimate means). The present paper explores the justification for merging legitimate and illegitimate means of opportunity in pursuit of the American Dream --Get Document:

Abstract: Crimes are multifaceted events that are not adequately explained
with basic descriptors, yet a considerable amount of significance
is afforded to relatively few simplistic labels that make up the
contemporary "scarlet letter." Today's criminal records create a
lifetime of stigmatization for a person. These public records employ
a limited range of information. By acknowledging the deleterious
effects of even one documented criminal event on an individual's
self-concept and status in society, we cannot avoid being faced
with a serious moral dilemma in light of society's prevalent
reliance upon electronic criminal records. The electronic brand
carried for life poses great challenges to offender rehabilitation
and reintegration. --Get Document:

Abstract: Having spent five years imprisoned in Federal Medical Centers (FMC), I have substantive experience with the health care delivery system of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). Intimately familiar with the symbolic quality of health care provided, I lived the rationing of health care practiced by FBOP medical personnel, and saw the organized denial of medical care to wards of the FBOP. Medical care within the FBOP is symbolic, with minimal expectation of improving prisoners' health. Discretionary medicine is top-down FBOP policy. The symbolic health care(less) provided by the FBOP is the focus of the present article.--Get Document:

Abstract: Much empirical support of self-control theory is based on the 24-item scale conceptualized by Grasmick and his colleagues. This study examined the dimensionality of the scale. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analyses, and a structural equation model (SEM) produced results that are discordant with much prior research. The Grasmick et al. scale was not unidimensional, more complex theoretical iterations failed to meet most goodness-of-fit statistics, and considerable refinement via modification indices was needed before a measurement model that fit the data could be found. Further refinement is required to justify it as the quintessential measure of self-control.--Get Document:

Abstract: Victimization is a significant part of the incarceration experience. In this study, we assessed the effects of victimization while incarcerated and pre-existing conditions on prisoners' distress. Data are drawn from surveys administered to 208 men recently released from prison. Using path analysis, we examined the direct effects of victimization and the direct and indirect effects, via victimization, of preprison characteristics and other control variables on distress (symptoms of post-traumatic stress [PTS] and depression). Findings reveal that victimization in prison significantly predicts the occurrence of PTS symptoms and depressive symptoms. Previous trauma, self-control, and race also have direct effects, and previous trauma and race have indirect effects on PTS and depressive symptoms.--Get Document: